Since shortness of breath and discomfort in the chest are two common warning signs that you may be having a heart attack, it sounds plausible that coughing repeated, deep coughs could help sustain you will help is on its way.

While coughs do fill your body with oxygen and create a pseudo-pump, unfortunately this is just another hoax that began in the mid 1990s.

Verify began with the American Heart Association, which does not endorse "Cough CPR," for someone who is conscious during a heart attack.

The American Heart Association indicates that coughing deeply to stabilize a heart beat should only be used in a hospital setting during a sudden arrhythmia while being hooked-up to an EKG and monitored by physicians. This is not something recommended for an individual to do to themselves.

The British Heart Foundation dismisses "Cough CPR" as a hoax.

"The ‘cough CPR’ myth has been circulating the internet for a while now, especially on social media sites such as Facebook," the foundation's website says. "If you come across it, please avoid spreading it any further and consider letting the person who posted it know that there’s no truth in it."

"Coughing won't do anything for someone who's having a heart attack because it's from a blocked artery or a spasm in the artery that decreases blood flow and oxygen to the heart," Robinson said. "If it last long enough that can cause an arrhythmia which can cause cardiac arrest."

"[Coughing], that's not one of the things that we teach the students when they take the training program," Merriweather said. "What we do teach them is activating the 911 system and getting help to solve the situation."

If an individual is alone during the onset of a heart attack, Robinson recommends three things: 1. calling 911 2. chew on a baby Aspirin 3. unlock the front door of your home so EMTs can reach you.